The authors review the mechanisms of resistive switching in monolayer and bulk forms of two-dimensional layered materials, providing insights into atomic motions and electronic transport across interfaces.

The authors report subnanosecond thermal transport on a gold–hexagonal boron nitrite interface governed by hyperbolic phonon–polariton coupling, demonstrating a cooling mechanism orders of magnitude faster than those relying on phonon-mediated processes.

Pockels coefficients and permittivity are measured in barium titanate and lithium niobate from 100 MHz to 330 GHz and device geometries are proposed to maintain a constant electro-optic response in BTO devices.

A deep learning-guided de novo design identifies self-assembling peptides containing non-natural amino acids capable of killing multidrug-resistant bacteria and treating mice with acute intestinal infection.

A decellularized extracellular matrix scaffold containing nanocapsules orchestrates timed growth factor release to promote muscle stem cell proliferation and differentiation and effective muscle regeneration after traumatic injury.

Semiconductor polymers containing selenophene in their backbones and immunomodulatory groups in their side chains enable the fabrication of implantable bioelectronic devices with enhanced immune compatibility and low foreign-body response.

Polar skyrmions are of interest for nanoelectronics due to their exotic properties. However, so far, these are metastable states requiring a delicate balance of boundary conditions to form in heterostructures. In ferroelectric and antiferroelectric solid solutions, skyrmionic textures are observed to form in both bulk and film.

High-entropy systems can present a range of striking physical properties, but mainly involve metal alloys. Here, using low-energy proton irradiation, a high-entropy superparaelectric phase is generated in a relaxor ferroelectric composition, increasing polarizability and enabling a capacitive energy density of 45.7 J cm^–3.

Artificial DNA photofluids exhibit dissipative life-like motion when fuelled by light in space and time, converting photoenergy into out-of-equilibrium structures on the macroscale.

The authors report that the metallic spin-1/2 chain compound Ti₄MnBi₂ forms near a quantum critical point with inherent frustration. They identify strong 1D spin and 3D electron coupling that should stimulate the search for materials exhibiting a 1D Kondo effect and heavy fermions.

Metamaterials are advancing with intricate structure designs and material combinations, with the support of computational methods and scalable fabrication techniques. These advancements enable the creation of multifunctional and smart devices, with growing presence in commercial devices.

Non-fullerene acceptors help organic solar cells achieve high performance, transforming organic photovoltaics into a useful technology.

Derya Baran, an associate professor at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Department of Materials Science and Engineering), talks to Nature Materials about the progress of laboratory-to-fabrication for organic photovoltaics

Jenny Nelson, a professor at Imperial College London (Department of Physics), talks to Nature Materials about recent research advances in organic photovoltaics.

The sorption and storage properties of metal–organic frameworks are extensively reported but their commercialization has been slow. Collaborative efforts from scientists, engineers and investors are needed to accelerate the transition from laboratory to the marketplace.

Improved thermoelectric refrigeration at cryogenic temperatures may lead to enhanced technologies and better research capabilities.